The seabed soundings starting this summer will be carried out off Närpiö, Pyhäjoki, Raahe and Kristiinankaupunki and in the Seljänsuunmatala area (Raahe, Siikajoki and Hailuoto). The sounding data is part of the preliminary preparations for offshore wind projects in Finnish territorial waters. The soundings are being carried out by the Geological Survey of Finland GTK.
The soundings will start off Närpiö this week and move to the Pyhäjoki, Raahe and Siikajoki waters around mid-June. In August, soundings will continue off the coast of Kristiinankaupunki. The sounding of one area will take around three weeks, but the work is very weather-sensitive.
The area to be sounded for one offshore wind farm is approximately 120 to 230 km². The water depth in the areas is mainly around 15–40 metres. The offshore wind power areas to be sounded are located in public waters in the Gulf of Bothnia.
Metsähallitus is using sounding data to speed up project implementation by providing operators with more detailed information on, for example, the depths and geological characteristics of the seabed in the project area.
The sounding data can be used to identify the best locations, in terms of technical, economic and natural values, for both offshore wind turbines erected on the seabed and submarine cables for electricity transmission in large areas of the sea reserved for offshore wind power production.
Video of last summer’s soundings
Get a glimpse of the research vessel Geomari’s sounding work on YouTube-video from last summer.
Additional information
Ville Koskimäki, Wind Power Project Development Manager, Metsähallitus, ville.koskimaki@metsa.fi, +358 40 536 9582
Read previous press releases on Metsähallitus’ sounding work